The final version of this article is expected Nov 15, 2025. Click here for updates. See the Index of Articles of this series.
By isolating autocracy, the different parties and factions of our democracy are gradually uniting under a common vision, one that sees politics within the bigger picture of life. In its broadest sense, this is spirituality, allowing for different beliefs, religious and nonreligious, to coalesce around a developing vision of social interaction beyond the physical. The first hurdle we have been overcoming is getting beyond the differences of our physical appearance, treating each other equally.
Seeing one another spiritually is the foundation of spirituality in democracy, without losing sight of the good, bad and ugly of what is physically before us. We can say that spiritually we are light, beyond our physical appearance. And while this is symbolic, subject to each of our own interpretations, it does hold common meaning between us by describing our shared experience as conscientious life, the basis for the singularity of democracy.
We can also say that, spiritually, there is a unity that exists between our light, a common level of intelligence called the light of Word (the Word of Life or the Word of God, depending on our beliefs). It also exists in full in each of us, blind to it or not in our democracy. The word ethnos in Greek bears this out, meaning citizen and nation. Citizens exist within a nation and the spirit of their nation exists in each of them.
Therefore, if we love Name (Life or God), we do so from the light of Word, the singularity of our unity as it exists on both levels. This is who we are, citizens part of a nation and citizens each reflecting our entire nation. And that is what makes democracy work, a singularity understood by its spirituality.
Those of us who do not know who they are are still part of the singularity of our democracy. Both levels of our singularity are still used, in full, to love Name and, in full, each other, despite some of us being unaware of the entire nation reflecting in them. Possessing such awareness is possible because of the intelligent love in our singularity. It flourishes according to the principle of conscience (suneidesis)1—making all others more important than ourselves without being against ourselves, explained in The Practical Guide below.
With the light of our singularity, we see through the illusion of those who do not know who they are, loving them as enemies of themselves, enemies of their own position in the singularity of our democracy. We are not against our positions though. So we bear with the bad they do before our eyes and resist the ugly, while still loving them as enemies of their own position in our national suneidesis.2
The Practical Guide
Four Basic Rules
Visually respect all others in your heart by making the light of their identity (without gender, ethnicity or age) more important than your own in the light of Name. With the goodness of the light of Word, see their transparent light in its symbolic cubic form in and before Name, permeationally through your own, without blocking either so that you can give Name all your agapé through them as seen inside or outside the supersession.
While visually respecting everyone like this, reject any illusion in anyone who does not know who they are in the light of Name or its singularity—seeing through their piety illusion with every thought and feeling in the agapé light of Word.
While visually respecting everyone and rejecting all illusion, see the inner act of disrespecting others as the loss of spiritual will. Assuming it is willful when we cannot know only tempts us to judge others or ourselves.
While visually respecting everyone and rejecting all illusion, see the act of carrying out such actions physically as the loss of physical will. Since we cannot know on the spiritual level, we cannot assume we know on the physical level. Forgive them for not knowing what they are doing. Distinguish between the good, bad and ugly and bear with the bad but resist the ugly, peacefully as much as possible—while still loving those who commit them in regards to who they are in the light of Name and its singularity in the Now of Word, not who they blindly think they are in their physical attributes.
Three Refined Rules
Visually worship Name by loving the aspect3 of its light that perpetually cleanses (yirah) the eyes of our heart. But at the same time, it blinds them with fear when, through our oneness in the light of Word, we do not do our part to fully restore our spiritual and physical wills and respect all others on both levels. Seeing the cleansing aspect of the light both ways at the same time with Word’s agapé and piety light helps us realize that nothing originates in totality from us in our position in the glory of the grace of Name’s light. We partake of all through the light of Word and, through our own usage of it, are entirely fulfilled or unfulfilled by our own choices, individually and collectively.
Visually worship Name by loving the aspects of its light that cleanse our eyes and endow us with a healthy anger (ultimately, simply grace), one directed toward those of us who do not respect all others. At the same time though, they are misusing Name’s aspect of anger in themselves so as to disrespect others and get them to fear them through misuse of the cleansing aspect in Name’s light. Seeing these aspects both ways at the same time with Word’s agapé and piety light frees us from imagining that anyone is independent of the light of Name in Word. We are entirely fulfilled or unfulfilled in it by our individual and collective choices.
Visually worship Name by loving these two aspects together with the fulfilled desire (which is no desire, ultimately, simply grace) for Name and its memory in us. It fills the eyes of our heart with the past and present goodness of Name in the light of Word and reveals it in the disrespectful as well. They misuse even this in themselves to foolishly strengthen what binds them, binding themselves tighter in Name’s anger. They do so to see fear in those they disrespect, unaware that they are trying to make Name fear and desire them, making their binding complete in these three aspects of the light of Name in Word. Forgive them and recognize that they have nothing of their own,4 like the rest of us, but blindly wrestle with the light of Name in themselves and between each other, despite the outer appearance that they are in control of themselves. Witnessing it with Word’s piety and agapé light empowers us to see through their illusion and bless them for who they really are in the glory of the grace of Name in Word. This keeps us aware of the singularity of our democracy and its full blessing in the light of Word—while peacefully resisting the ugly things they commit without judging them in the light of Name. For we are not against ourselves.
Loving Children and the Oppressed with Unlimited Agapé
Envisioning the three aspects mentioned with the light of Word, visually respect them in the light of Name as one—purification (cleansing), healthy anger and spiritual desire. Consider how the anger in this oneness is used by parents protecting their children and democracies protecting their oppressed. But are they keeping the eyes and desire of their heart true with the cleansing in this oneness?
Since Word is everyone’s life, however we define this according to our beliefs, the anger in Name’s light protects Word in everyone, including those of us who do not know who they are in it. Name’s anger protects Word in those whom some parents judge and blindly hate when protecting their children with limited agapé and in those whom some democracies judge and blindly hate when protecting their oppressed with the same limited love.
Of course, Name’s anger equally protects Word in these parents also and their children, as well as in these democracies and their oppressed. However, Word encourages us to test ourselves with these words to see if we know who we are and know what we are doing: to the measure you did good or bad to these the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. Choosing to do the good, all parents and democracies can learn to use unlimited agapé to defend their children and the oppressed, without tearing at our collective awareness of—the singularity of Word in and between all families of our democracies.
The Practical Guide helps us differentiate between knowing who we all are in the light of Name and not knowing. It opens our eyes to the loss of will that comes with not knowing and the resulting bad and ugly things done. It starts with judging others, thinking we are right in assuming that they know what they are doing in the light of Name, regardless of what they know about their physical actions.
This is a clear indication that we do not know concerning ourselves but—again without judging—may be beginning to realize that we do not and are ready to know who we are in democracies. We should all want to know whether or not we too are blindly wrestling with the light of Name, individually or collectively.
The spirituality of democracy is not a matter of simple faith, although faith is always a factor in everything we do, regardless of whomever or whatever we put our faith in. If it were though, we would already love the enemies of our national suneidesis. It is about understanding and vision, which are difficult or painful at times to possess. But it is all worth it when the oneness of our mind and suneidesis transcend in us collectively and we see the glory of the grace of Name in Word, the spiritual growth of democracy. To get to this point, we must go through the worst of times together, for that is when democracy grows the most.
During such times, the citizens of democracy need mature agapé, which requires understanding of the all-knowing attribute of agapé.
The All-Knowing Attribute
When we love, have agapé, we have agapé’s all-knowing attribute. What is this attribute in spirituality and democracy?
Knowledge of Word explains it like this: Name is agapé. One who loves knows Name...(If you love), you have charisma from the sacred (agapé) and you know all.
Since Name is agapé, what could be more sacred or holy than agapé? Breathe that in, for holiness is meant to be breathed in and experienced in all of our lives as shown in The Spiritual Story of Democracy. It is what we seek by using The Practical Guide.
And since Name is all-knowing, agapé is also. Therefore, if we have agapé, we are clothed with Name’s all-knowing attribute, by the anointing charisma5 of agapé. But it must be agapé in its original form Word, for Name’s Word is agapé, not the same but the same. This is spirituality.
All-Knowingness Transfers Without Loss of Substance
Unlike all transfer in the universe, the agapé of Name transfers as the agapé of Word without any loss of substance, carried over in its all-knowing attribute.
Now, “knowing all” does not mean we “know about all.” Knowledge of Word states that the charisma teaches us about all. This is not a minor difference, but at the same time it is when we consider what the all is that we know. Call to experience or focus on the mysteriously-sublime feeling of agapé if you are already experiencing now. It is at its brightest when loving the spiritually blind or at least those whom we think are according to what we know about them — as each political party sees the other — brightest because this is when we have our greatest compassion once we get past any hatred.
Hatred, however, comes from what we know about others, while agapé is foremost unconditional love based on knowing others in the allness of their personhood.
The experience itself of knowing all is first knowing — the all of Name’s personhood and Word’s, the singularity of Word, the oneness between them and their agapé, beyond all human knowledge and experience alone. It is an allness experienced and understood only in the oneness of our mind and suneidesis, through the mind (dianoia) of our heart.
With the dianoia of our heart, we can hold the allness experience of agapé as it transfers between Name and Word in us. This leads to the experience of it transferring between us, without any loss of substance.
Reasoning with the Appearance of All-Knowingness
Now, how do we reason with those who believe they have the all-knowing attribute of agapé but do not? Do you have it or only think you have it? Can you be reasoned with, reason with others who see things differently?
Name’s Word is agapé. Life’s truth is agapé.
We see both political sides judging each other as though they have an all-knowing perspective of the other. Their words speak right to each other’s conscience but from their perspectives only, without the dianoia of their hearts.
Both sides hope that what is true in their eyes awakens the other’s eyes. Shock therapy for the conscience. But no one can rush the conscience.
Consider the following description of how, today, the two-way mirror of two political consciences communicates.
They each color what comes in from the other with their own impurities and reflect it back into what their impurities imagine the other’s lesser state can understand. A death spiral, but under the pressures we are in, it often, for the sake of survival, forces the state of one or both political consciences into the colorless, pure reflection of agapé.
A purely reflective conscience operating under agapé does not require a perfect person but only one who sees Word’s agapé with the dianoia of their heart. First that means we make the conscience of others more important than our own, as explained visually in Basic Rule 1.
Then, we create communication that carries undistorted meaning to convey conscientious thought as each side sees itself, without letting it get twisted into something it is not by the other side. When both sides feel their thoughts are being heard and not judged by the other, we move on to the work of discerning how this works in the all-knowing attribute.
We all work from the all-knowingness of our own world, be that a tent on the street or a large community holding each other responsible. How much we know about it is secondary.
All sides can be wrong or right in each other’s eyes but unaware of it — if unable to recognize the limitations of their own all-knowingness. With agapé though, we can expand our all-knowingness to include those we dislike but have made more important, regardless of whether they do the same for us. This puts us in a much better position to understand what is in their eyes, as well as our own.
Conveying undistorted meaning of conscientious thought is possible within one’s all-knowingness, not outside of it. Knowing this gives way to recognizing the transfer of Name’s agapé without any loss of substance. Then the focus can turn to finding where loss of meaning occurs between groups so negotiating of meaning can resolve it. This is spirituality and democracy.
The Historic Depths of the All-Knowingness of Agapé
Finally, consider the historic depths to this. In the United States, on the democratic side, the movie industry has long glorified the human body without regard for the all-knowingness of agapé. On the republican side, churches have long glorified the life of moral people without regard for the all-knowingness of agapé. In both cases, consider the aspects of fear, anger and desire as explained visually in the Three Refined Rules.
Many of us grew up in this all-knowing American world, with many of us grasping in the dark for the light of all-knowing agapé.
Every nation has its own. Before Israel was a nation again, there was too much disaster during the Holocaust for Jews to hear about the all-knowingness of agapé. Today, before Palestine is a nation again, there is too much disaster in Gaza for these Muslims to hear about the all-knowingness of agapé. The prayer is for the semitic brothers Israel and Palestine to adopt the principle and live as neighbors in the only true peace, the light of agapé.
Here, conveying the undistorted meaning of conscientious thought between them is possible without being against the singularity between themselves and the rest of us.
In the process, the world must take responsibility for its role in turning Israel into what it has become, by having denied its children refuge from Hitler, just as we must take responsibility for our role in what Hamas has become by having subjected the Palestinians to what Israel has become.6
Individually, we too may be in a place of too much disaster to hear the truth about the all-knowingness of agapé. But even if we can hear it, knowing that things are wrong still in the world, the all-knowingness of our own world keeps us trapped. We go in circles making a myriad of excuses to avoid learning how to envision the all-knowingness of Word’s agapé with the noéma mental-function of envisioning in our hearts.
However, again, it is times like these that reveal the way for all of us to enter the colorless, pure reflection of Name’s agapé for us, transferring between us without loss. May The Practical Guide and the all-knowing attribute of Word’s agapé get us there sooner.
Suggested Articles:
Spirituality and Democracy Plus One
The Eyes of Democracy (Introduction and Index of Articles)
Suneidesis is pronounced soo-NAY-day-sis. After reading the link explaining it, you will see how central it is to this teaching. Using this foreign word regularly in discussions helps us get accustomed to experiencing something new and positive in our awareness. When the word conscience is used, it will refer to the aspect of suneidesis that involves right and wrong, but this aspect cannot be separated from our co-conscientious awareness of all things.
If I understand that my awareness of something as simple as a cup includes co-conscientiousness, I do not allow myself to get blinded by the cup alone but know it as part of all creation at the hands of the Creator or the universe, depending on one’s beliefs. Spiritual maturity does this naturally.
The repetition of suneidesis is meant to challenge you to consider this dimension in your awareness. Apologies, but it will only be a necessary annoyance until it becomes natural.
The states of Name’s aspects are usually beyond our comprehension only because we have been or are misusing them. At their core, they are all the glory of the grace of Name, the greatness of the attributes of Life, revealed in Word, the truth of Life.
Knowledge of Word speaks of heavenly glory and earthly glory, indicating that even the physical is ultimately the glory of Name’s grace, ultimately the grace of Name. Distinguishing every kind enables us to learn the part of Name’s nature displayed in them. Although our physical body displays a part also, it is the physical means to experience all other physical things.
And yet, we experience everything with our suneidesis in its oneness with our mind, the nature of both spirit. In spiritual fasting, when making all others more important without being against ourselves, we bear the symptoms of those who are blind in our physical body, along with any of our own, with the glory of the grace of Name in Word in our suneidesis. Here, we can transcend the states experienced only physically due to misuse. Remember, practice spiritual fasting only when you yourself are not addicted to any symptoms.
When someone has authority over us that they can misuse to harm us, consider what Word taught.
They would have no authority over us unless it has been given to them by Name, and that those who give them authority over us have done the greater wrong.
This again points to the fact that no one has anything of their own, even in this world, and that everyone is responsible for how they use the authority given to them to save life, not to harm it. Seeing each other this way helps us keep the authority given to us by Name if we love the enemies of our conscience, for that is Name’s will for all of us, the will of Life.
Charisma is an English word from chrisma in Greek. It is normally translated anointing. One of the meanings for charisma is “a divinely conferred power or talent”. I use it this way to allow nonbelievers to join in without having to believe in all that comes along with anointings in the Bible and tradition.
If 165 million Americans were murdered and the rest of the world could have prevented it, half the population, the next ten generations of Americans would have a distorted view of the world. Israel lost half of its population only four generations ago because the world did not let them enter their countries. Where was the all-knowingness of agapé?
This is not meant to offend anyone. It is only intended to bring attention to what Israel and Hamas must be going through without excusing their behavior.